Development and optimisation using D-optimal design of dual-functionalized hyaluronic acid–chitosan-coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles for repurposed propranolol delivery in breast cancer: a proof-of-concept study

Abstract

Drug repurposing combined with nanocarrier systems can accelerate cancer therapy development while reducing the time and cost of conventional drug discovery. We developed and optimised hyaluronic acid (HA)-chitosan (CH)-coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles (HA-CH-Prop-MSNPs) for delivery of the repurposed β-blocker propranolol. A two-stage D-optimal design optimised propranolol loading, then CH and HA coating, using particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential, and entrapment efficiency (EE). The formulation (0.2% low-molecular-weight CH, 0.07% HA, 2 mg/mL propranolol, 10 mg/mL mesoporous silica nanoparticles) exhibited a particle size of 200.5 nm, PDI of 0.495, zeta potential of -25.7 mV, and EE of 91.2%. HA-CH coating provided controlled release and shifted the mechanism from near-Fickian diffusion toward an increasing contribution from polymer relaxation-controlled transport. Propranolol release was significantly higher at tumour-mimicking pH 5.5 than at physiological pH 7.4 across all formulations. Compared with free propranolol, HA-CH-Prop-MSNPs reduced the IC50 against MCF-7 breast cancer cells 2.8-fold while maintaining negligible carrier cytotoxicity. Under accelerated storage conditions (40 °C/75% RH), the formulation remained stable for six months, with less than a 2% reduction in EE. These findings provide proof of concept that HA-CH-coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles enhance the in vitro anticancer activity of repurposed propranolol through encapsulation and controlled release, laying the foundation for future investigation of HA-mediated cellular targeting.